The Shining Girls
By Lauren Beukes
(Umuzi, R180)
Lauren Beukes is one of those local authors about whom there is a constant buzz. She is expected to reach great heights internationally and from her last book, Zoo City, described as a black magic noir set in Joburg, the pressure was on.
What she’s come up with is something titled The Shining Girls which is set in Chicago because she didn’t necessarily want to write about the country and its past horrors again and it would have come into play because of the timelines.
And yes, there are timelines because Beukes has decided to play around with time-travel. I hadn’t read either of her first two books simply because the genre didn’t appeal but this time she was the book of The Exclusive Books Recommends’ May selection and as one of the judges, part of my obligation.
Apart from that, I had also decided that I was going to read her next book simply because of all the fuss. One needs to check that out especially with local writers and I’m delighted I did.
The Shining Girls is an extraordinary read not only because of the contents but also because of the writing and the mind at work at getting this story to work. There’s nothing as intimidating one would think as doing a thriller with time-travel. It might not sound that daunting but the thing about thrillers is that every little move has to make sense or it loses its appeal of trying to follow the chase. Once an author takes an easy way out or tries to cheat the reader, that’s it, especially in this genre. It’s a brilliant idea though because time-travel offers so many possibilities but also loop holes.
Beukes will have none of that. Her story is rock solid and so well thought through that much of the pace is about just trying to keep up with the characters and their travels. It’s cunning and smart but best of all is the main character, one of the shining girls of the title, Kirby. She’s been killed once but got away without the killer knowing. It’s her determination to find out what happened to her that keeps the story running helter skelter and turns it into a page turner.
Beukes has created a spunky young lass that both defies the term heroine as well as that of shining girl until one really gets to know her. So well is she drawn that you find yourself rooting almost from the start for seemingly one of life’s victims who has decided that she’s going to fight her way out.
You can’t but get with her on the case and back her all of the way. But we also meet the serial killer Harper from the start. In fact, we know long before any of the characters exactly how he manages to achieve everything he does. That, perhaps with the feisty voice of the young heroine, is what is so compelling.
Beukes gets you hooked early on and then with brilliant writing and smart action she takes you time surfing as her villain switches from one period to the next by simply walking through a specific space. Because it feels so contemporary and because of the lead characters, this is one that should appeal to the whole family if you have young adult kids.
Now I get the excitement about Beukes. She has found a way of doing quality entertainment. That’s a rare and precious commodity.